WATERTOWN, SD. (Friday, April 11th 2025):
The Watertown Shamrocks gave their fans one final thrill in their last home game of the season, defeating the St. Cloud Norsemen 2-1 in regulation on Friday night at Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. The tightly contested battle unfolded in front of a full crowd—Watertown’s 20th sell-out of the year. The Norsemen struck first midway through the opening period, but the Shamrocks answered back just under three minutes later. Forward Antons Macijevskis buried the equalizer off a clean feed from Zach Boren and Owen Chartier, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Both teams tightened up defensively in the second period, with neither side giving an inch. Goaltender Mason Gudridge held strong in net for the Shamrocks, turning away every shot that came his way after the opening goal and giving Watertown a chance to stay in the game. As the clock ticked down late in the third, overtime seemed inevitable—until Elliott Mikesch broke the deadlock with just 44 seconds remaining. Age-out Mikesch, snapped home the game-winner to seal the dramatic regulation victory. The goal was met with an electric eruption from the Watertown faithful, capping off a memorable home finale. The Shamrocks matched the Norsemen stride-for-stride in shots and physicality, and remained disciplined in a low-penalty affair. The win gave Watertown their third victory over St. Cloud this season and set the tone for a strong finish as they head into their final game.
ST. CLOUD, MN. (Saturday, April 12th 2025):
After defeating St. Cloud’s hopes in making a Robertson Cup run, the Shamrocks felt the fire in Saturday night’s matchup in enemy territory. Despite the strong presence of Shamrocks fans present at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex, the energy was not enough to secure a win for the Shamrocks’ final game of the 2024-2025 season. Offensively play for the Shamrocks was an uphill battle, reflected in the shots on goal with 23 for Watertown and 44 for St. Cloud. The frustration quickly showed with the Shamrocks tallying 101 PIM, resulting in 2/7 PP for the Norsemen.
Despite the final score of 0-5, the Shamrocks finish the first-year with much to be proud of. Finishing the year 19-33-2-5, the Shamrocks secured 45 points ranking them 6th in the Central Division and 30th in the league. The Shamrocks will be back in action following the announcement of the 2025-2026 season in late summer of 2025.
Photo by: Olivia Sherman